Castel Gandolfo: Amidst the tranquil summer setting of Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV delivered a stirring Angelus reflection, reminding the faithful that eternal life is not something we can outwit or negotiate for it is something we receive when we choose to serve life by loving God and others wholeheartedly.
Addressing pilgrims gathered in Freedom Square, the Pope meditated on the Gospel passage where a man asks Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The Pope described this question as echoing the timeless longing of the human heart a longing to be free from suffering, failure, and death.
But eternal life, he said, cannot be conquered by force or acquired through cunning. “It is not a prize we win or a transaction we can bargain for. Eternal life is a gift an inheritance bestowed upon us by the Father, just as parents pass down their legacy to their children,” Pope Leo explained.
To receive this inheritance, the Pope emphasized, we must do the will of God, which is to love fully with our heart, soul, strength, and mind and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In living this divine law of love, he said, we are responding to God’s own love, which He first poured out unconditionally through His Son, Jesus.
Pope Leo called on Christians to seek authentic love, which is never possessive or self-serving, but generous, forgiving, and expansive. Just as Christ drew near to suffering humanity, so too must we reach out with compassion to those who feel lost, wounded, or abandoned.
“Following Jesus, the Redeemer of all,” he said, “we are invited to be bearers of consolation and messengers of hope especially to those burdened by sorrow or despair.”
Concluding his reflection, the Pope urged the faithful to recognize that the command to love God and neighbor transcends all man-made laws, giving them their true foundation. "We do not gain eternity by evading death," he declared. "We gain it by serving life, right here and now, in how we care for one another.”
By choosing service over selfishness, Pope Leo said, we not only become heirs of eternal life but also craftsmen of peace in the everyday moments of our shared journey.